HONDURAN PRESIDENT OVERTHROWN IN COUP

HONDURAN PRESIDENT OVERTHROWN IN COUP Sometimes I feel that I must be living under a rock here in Chicago because the local media never seems to cover any international stories, no matter how important they are. Unless, of course, the topic is what dress Michelle Obama is wearing while shopping in Paris. How did I not know that the situation was so volatile in Honduras that a coup was eminent and that for the first time in 16 years (when Guatemalan President Jorge Serrano was forced out in 1993) that there would be a successful military takeover of a Central American government? I certainly am well informed about which booths at Taste of Chicago will be serving pizza, I know second by second what occurred in the last minutes of Michael Jackson’s life before his passing and that a mechanical breakdown at the musical Mary Poppins caused the audience to be sent home.

Didn't the Chicago media think it was a major story that Honduran President Manual Zelaya was awakened Sunday by gunfire, and while still in his pajamas, flown to Costa Rico into forced exile? Isn’t it of major international significance that armored military vehicles seized the national palace and patrolled the streets of the capital city of Tegucigalpa with machine guns? Why were there no headlines? (The Tribune did have a short story buried in the paper, the Sun Times had nothing.)

I learned by researching on the Internet that President Barack Obama said he was "deeply concerned" and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Zelaya's arrest should be condemned. "I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter," Obama's statement read.

I make jokes that I don’t like doing anything that is more than 5 blocks away from my home. I laugh that I live in my own little world, but it’s okay because they know me here. But today I am ashamed of my ignorance. Pero hoy yo me avergüenzo de mi ignorancia.